


The voyage

by Iseegoodinyou



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: 6 weeks of peace, Alternate Canon, Boat, F/M, Love, Sailing, Second Date, Trust, stories of their past, surprise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-26
Updated: 2016-10-26
Packaged: 2018-08-27 00:39:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8381008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iseegoodinyou/pseuds/Iseegoodinyou
Summary: Have you ever wondered what happened to Emma and Killian during those six weeks of peace in the middle of season 4? I have a whole lot of stories in my mind about those six weeks. In this one, Emma surprises Killian on their second official date. They also get to know a little bit more about their past. It's sort of the sequel of my other piece "Holding Hearts", in which Killian asks Emma out after she returns his heart, but it can be read as a stand-alone as well. Happy reading! And please, comment if you read it, I'd love to read your impressions! :) xx





	

Emma pulled out her mobile from the pocket of her jeans and pressed the button to access her favourite numbers. She selected Killian’s name, smiling at the picture that appeared on the screen. It was a selfie Henry had taken a couple of mornings ago at Granny’s during breakfast. Both him and Killian were grinning at the camera, hugging each other’s shoulders, and both of them had whipped cream from their cocoa on their upper lip. Henry must have set it up as Killian’s default picture when she was not paying attention.

She pressed the calling button and brought the phone to her ear, still smiling. The phone rang once and then she heard Killian’s excited voice on the other side of the line: “Swan! I was starting to think this bloody talking… _thing_ was broken!” He sounded like they’d been apart for years, but she’d met him literally a few hours before at the library when she’d brought him coffee in one of her pauses from work. But of course that was not the second official date he was expecting so eagerly.

“It’s been two days, Killian. I told you I needed time to set things up. And the talking thing is called a _phone_ …” she replied, a little exasperated. She’d told him something like a million times already, but modern world was still a mystery to him. Which was kind of normal for someone who’d lived hundreds of years (the thought still scared and amused her at the same time) in lands with the technology of medieval times…

“Kidding. Of course I knew you would call me back. I perfectly know you cannot resist for long without the company of your absurdly handsome pirate boyfriend…” She could practically see his shameless grin. It didn’t matter that now they were officially a couple (even if she blushed every time she even thought about the word _boyfriend_ , let alone heard it spoken from his lips), he didn’t lose any occasion to flirt with her, like he had done since basically the first time they had met back in the Enchanted Forest. She would never ever tell him, not even under the worst torture, but she secretly loved that part of him. She rolled her eyes, realising too late that he could not see her through the phone. “Are you still interested in that second date?” she asked, even if she was sure of his answer.

Right on cue, his words came, loud and clear: “Of course I am!” And she was supposed to be the one who couldn’t be without him!

Emma chuckled. “Good. Then meet me outside the library in fifteen minutes.”

The moment of silence that followed was so long that Emma thought the line had gone dead. But then Killian spoke again, his voice hesitant: “Ah. There could be a slight problem with that… you see, Belle made me promise to help her looking for some books that…” Emma could almost hear his brain trying to come up with a solution that could allow him to go to his date with her without breaking his promise to Belle. Always the gentleman. Luckily, she had planned everything.

“I know…” she said, cutting off his explanation “I talked to her already. You’re excused for the afternoon.”

“Am I?” he asked, confused.

“Yes, you are” she confirmed.

“So, you’re telling me not only I am free from a boring and pointless quest for godforsaken magical items, but I also get to spend the rest of the day with you? It must be my lucky day!” She found herself smiling again at the happy tone of his voice.

“Fifteen minutes. Don’t be late!” she warned.

“It would be bad form to make a lady wait. I’ll be there!” he replied, eager.

“Perfect. Bye!” Emma closed the connection, feeling a little jolt of anticipation about what was about to happen. She grabbed her white sweater, knotting its long sleeves around her waist and she set off to pick up the last thing she needed for their afternoon out: a paper bag full of their favourite foods from Granny’s.

  
***

When she arrived at the library exactly fifteen minutes later, she found Killian waiting for her outside the door. Emma slowed down her pace to take a better look at him before he could notice her presence. He was leaning casually against the wall, legs crossed, hand and hook thrust in the pockets of his ever-present leather jacket. His face was turned upwards to the clear sky, his hair messed up by the light wind and his eyes squinting in the sunshine. She would never admit it to his face, but he was indeed handsome.

As if he could sense her thoughts, Killian turned around. As soon as his eyes met hers, a broad smile appeared on his face, making it shine more than the sun. That was his special smile, the one he reserved only to her and no one else. The one that made everything around him a little brighter, a little better, a little more magical. Emma actually felt butterflies fluttering their wings in her stomach and warmth colouring her cheeks at the sight of it. She cursed herself in her mind for the stupid reaction, but she couldn’t help herself. Killian made her feel like a fifteen-year-old again.

As she walked towards him, he pushed himself away from the wall, taking out his right hand from the pocket, inviting her for a one-armed hug. “Hey…” she greeted him, stretching on her tiptoes to kiss him on his scruffy cheek, her right hand flying up to brush his hair at the nape of his neck. She could have spent forever with her fingers in his hair…

“Hello, love…” he whispered softly, sending a shiver of pleasure down her spine, his hand pressing her closer on the small of her back. She smiled at him fondly, losing herself for a second in the deep blue of his eyes. She pulled back and offered him her arm. “Shall we go?” he took it gladly.

“And where exactly are we going?” he asked, his curiosity greater than ever, now that he was so close to finding out.

“You’ll see…” said Emma, cryptic.

“What’s the point of all this mystery?” he asked, a little frustration appearing in his voice.

“I told you, it’s going to be a surprise! Be patient, tiger, you’ll find out soon enough…” she leaned towards him to kiss his cheek again to keep him calm and then she quickly changed the subject, to keep him distracted from the path they were taking: “So, tell me. How is your work with Belle going?”

He sighed, shaking his head. His voice was full of uncertainty when he spoke again: “I don’t know, Swan. Belle is convinced that there’s going to be something in the library that will help us find a way to free the fairies from the Crocodile’s magical hat, but I’ve read something like a dozen bloody books and there was nothing even remotely useful…”

“Oh, come on!” Emma replied “It’s been… what… two days since you started looking? Surely there are many more books in the library to check! You’ll find something, you just need to be more positive…”

“It’s not really in my nature to be hopeful and optimistic…” he mumbled, looking at his boots. After a moment of silence, he added: “Also, I feel guilty. If it weren’t for me, those fairies would still be free…”

Emma slid her hand on his forearm and took his hand in hers, interlocking their fingers. “It’s not your fault. Rumpelstiltskin was controlling you, everyone knows it!” she stated, her voice firm and clear. She tugged at their holding hands, to get him to turn around towards her. He did and she looked straight into his now shaded eyes. “I know you’ll find a way, I believe in you…” Killian’s face relaxed as he smiled at her again, grateful.

They walked in silence for the next few minutes, Killian still lost in thought to pay attention to his surroundings, but when they started down the last road before the little port of Storybrooke, he furrowed his brow, looking around.

“The docks?” he asked, surprised. Definitely not the place he had in mind for a date. “What are we doing here, Swan? There are no places to sit and drink here, or… well, anything else, apart from sand and sea…”

Emma smiled at his confusion and kept pulling him along without saying anything, until they reached the far end of the port, where an old wooden pier crawled into the calm afternoon sea. A blue sailing boat rocked slightly in the gentle wind, the name _voyage_ painted in white on the blue hull sparkling in the sunlight and promising adventures.

Emma stopped right at the end of pier and turned to look into Killian’s questioning eyes. She moved her hand to grab his hook too and she took a deep breath. She had tried her speech in her mind many times, but actually saying it out loud was a totally different thing. Especially in front of those piercing blue eyes. She still felt weird exposing her feelings like that, without any walls to protect her already damaged heart, but after all that happened she was determined to give Hook a real chance.

“Maybe the docks are not exactly the most obvious place for a date, but there’s something here I want to show you…” she said “See, you trading the Jolly Roger to return to this land to find me was easily the most amazing thing anyone has ever done for me, and…”

Killian squeezed her hand and smiled, cutting off her explanation mid-sentence: “That was the only way to see you again, I didn’t even have to think about it for a second. It’s not really that big of a deal! What does that have to do with…”

Impatient of a pirate, if he kept interrupting her like that, she would never manage to finish! She let go of his hook and placed her index finger on his lips, effectively shutting him up. “Listen to me, Captain...” she said, her bossy tone of voice and determined look keeping him at bay “I’m trying to explain it to you. So, yeah, that was really nice of you and all, but I know how much you love that ship and I know you miss being out at sea… don’t try to deny it, I know!” she added, reading his coming protests into his eyes “Whenever I have to look for you and you are not at Granny’s or drinking your ass out at the Rabbit Hole, you’re here at the port, looking at the horizon with longing in your eyes. So I wanted to do something about it. And that’s why we are here. Today, the _voyage_ is yours.”

More confused than ever, Killian furrowed his brow even more. “I don’t understand… what the hell are you talking about, Swan?”

Emma smiled broadly, turning slightly to point at the boat docked at her side. “The boat!” she said “The _voyage_ … I asked the owner if we could have it for the day, take it out at sea…”

Killian’s eyes opened wide with surprise at her words, his eyebrows raised, as if he couldn’t believe his ears. “Are you serious?!” he whispered.

“Yes!” Emma replied, excitement making her voice a little higher than usual “I even checked the weather, no thunderstorms forecast for the whole afternoon, so we are safe to go!”

She expected him to ask her a million questions about which magic allowed her to predict the weather, but he remained still and silent for a long moment. Then he smiled. Not his usual flirty smirk, no. This was a real, teeth flashing, eyes beaming smile. The sight of it sent a jolt of happiness down Emma’s spine. In a split second she found herself wrapped up into a tight embrace, her feet not touching the ground anymore. She laughed, wrapping her own arms around his shoulders. He spun her around, making everything blur around her, everything except the sparkling blue of his eyes. He brushed his lips on hers quickly and then he let her go. With a childish cry of joy, he jumped on the boat in a swift graceful leap. Holding on to one of the ropes, he looked around for a few seconds.

Emma stood on the pier, hands on her hips, head cocked on one side, watching him. She knew her surprise would please him, but she hadn’t expected this! He looked like a kid at Christmas. She was secretly proud of herself for her brilliant idea, her heart warmed up by his joy.

After what felt like years, he turned around to face her again, smile still in place, hair messy in the wind. “Who’s the madman who entrusts their own boat to a pirate captain?” he asked, amused.

Emma replied: “I guaranteed for you. They might not trust you, but they do trust _me_. I’m the sheriff, after all!” She grinned up at him.

He shook his head slightly, his eyes suddenly serious, even if the smile didn’t leave his lips. “Swan, I really don’t know what to say… this is…” His sentence trailed off into silence, his mind clearly unable to come up with something that could express what he was feeling.

Emma couldn’t quite believe it. She opened her eyes wide, imitating his surprised stare, and she teased him: “Did I really manage to leave the great Captain Hook speechless?”

He chuckled and admitted defeat in a soft murmur, barely audible over the sound of the waves against the hull of the boat. “You bloody well did. Thank you…”

“That must be a first!” she cheered and then she smiled kindly at him “You’re very welcome. Do I have permission to come aboard, Captain?”

He grinned and let out his good hand to her. She grabbed it and he pulled her up, with a bit more strength than necessary, so that Emma lost her balance and fell straight into his arms, exactly where he wanted her to be. Her heart skipped a beat when he looked at her, before leaning down and whispering on her lips: “Let me thank you properly…” He kissed her slowly at first, caressing her cheek with the tip of his fingers. When she sighed softly against his lips, he deepened the kiss, sliding his hand through her long blond hair. Emma felt the warmth of him expand through her body, melting it against his own. She grabbed his neck to pull him closer, kissing him back with the same hot passion. When he pulled back a moment later, she was breathless in his arms.

“As much as I’d like to kiss you all day, love, I wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to take this little thing out for a trip, after all the effort you put into organising this...” he said, a little short on breath himself, the childish smile back in place “Are you ready to be my crewmate, Swan?”

“Aye!” she replied, like a proper pirate.

***

Hours later, Emma sat at the bow, her legs crossed under her. The boat was anchored just outside the port and she was looking out at the horizon, which was starting to turn orange with the approaching sunset. She stretched her long arms above her head, feeling sore for all the running around and pulling of ropes. She had realised that afternoon that sailing was quite the workout. She was already beginning to forget all the names Killian had tried to teach her, without mentioning the million different ways of knotting a rope, but she thought she did quite a good job in keeping up with him. He even let her keep the helm… for about five seconds! She smiled at the memory of his terrified face when she had asked him to let her lead.

She rolled the sleeves of her sweater up a bit. She had swapped her shirt for it earlier, after Killian had turned the boat against the wind on purpose, making it jump on the waves which had reached all the way up on deck, soaking her to the bone. Her jeans were still wet, but she didn’t mind. It had been worth it just to hear the sound of his carefree laughter when she had screamed at him.

Lost in her own thoughts, she didn’t hear him come close, until he was right in front of her. He was barefoot and his trousers were rolled up to his knees. He sat down, handing her out the paper bag from Granny’s, which had been kept safely below deck. She pulled out their favourite grilled cheese sandwiches, along with a bottle of wine, a couple of plastic cups and chocolate brownies. She poured the wine and offered him a cup. “It’s not very elegant, but I didn’t want to risk bringing proper glasses…” she apologised.

Killian grabbed the cup, touched it to hers and took a sip. “It’s perfect” he said, relaxing against the railing of the boat “So, did you enjoy sailing, love?” he added, expectantly.

Emma looked up at his bright face. She enjoyed the sun and the sea, of course, but not even remotely as he did. He was the portrait of happiness. His skin was slightly sunburnt on the cheekbones, his hair completely dishevelled by the sea salt and the wind, his eyes bluer than ever. “I did…” she said “even if I’d have preferred to keep my clothes a bit drier…” she added, pouting slightly.

Killian laughed, almost choking on his sandwich. “Come on, that was the best part!” he uttered and then he flushed his bright blue eyes at her with the most mischievous and flirtatious crooked smirk she had ever seen. “It would be even better if you’ve worn something paler though…” he added, his eyes lingering on her chest.

Emma blushed fiercely and she grabbed her sweater, pulling it closer to her body. She looked at him with wide eyes, half screaming and half laughing at him: “You bloody pervert!” She tried to slap his pretty face, but he moved away quickly (damn his pirate reflexes), grabbed her hand and kissed her palm.

“You are learning to swear like a pirate! I am proud of you, Swan…” he chuckled, without letting go of her hand.

Emma shook her head at him, still laughing at his flirtatious attempts. “I must say I was impressed though…” she said “I thought it would be different to sail a modern boat than your Jolly Roger, but it looked like you were born on it! Where did you learn?”

Killian lowered his gaze self-consciously on their interlocked fingers. “I’ve lived on boats for all my life… my dad and my brother taught me a lot, but I learnt how to sail a ship properly in the Royal Navy…”

Emma opened her eyes wide in surprise. Before she could stop herself, she interrupted him: “The Royal Navy? You were in the Royal Navy?”

Killian replied, without looking up: “Aye, I was…”

Emma waited for more, but it never came. Around her only the sound of the waves on the hull of the boat and the seagulls in the sky. She looked away from him, giving him space. She respected the fact that he might not want to share more about his past. She was not fond of talking about herself much either. They were similar in this. “Wow…” she said, impressed. Then she frowned, a question forming in her head. It slipped her lips before she could stop it: “But if you were in the Royal Navy… how did you become a pirate?”

She felt his fingers twitch in her hand and the silence grew heavier. When she turned around, she found him completely still, his eyes closed and his brow furrowed in a pained expression. She mentally cursed herself for her impulsiveness. She was ruining everything with her stupid questions! She touched his cheek with her free hand and she hurried to apologise: “I’m sorry, Killian! I thought it would be a funny or adventurous story… I didn’t want to upset you…”

Killian smiled, shaking his head slightly into her hand. He opened his eyes and looked straight at her. He seemed fine, even if the happiness of moments before was now shadowed with a veil of something that looked like a mixture of sadness, regret and pain.

“No, it’s ok…” he whispered “It’s just… the day I became a pirate was also the day my brother died…”

Emma bit her lower lip. “I’m sorry…” she apologised again “I didn’t even know you had a brother until now…”

"I don't talk much about him, it was a very long time ago..." he said and then he told her the story of how he became a pirate, just briefly, trying not to get into it too much. He didn’t want to ruin their date with angst and anger: “His name was Liam. We were sent to Neverland by the King on a secret mission to retrieve some sort of magical plant that was supposed to have healing powers. Unfortunately, when we got there, we discovered that the plat was in fact a poison. My brother died because of it. I took his ship and all the men who wanted to follow me and I left. I couldn’t stand to serve the man who lied to us and got my brother killed…”

Emma listened to him, watching his mind travel back to a faraway time and land. She would have wanted to ask him many more questions about his brother, about how he died and how they discovered that the plant was a poison, but she bit her lip, knowing that there would be other occasions in the future. She had done enough damage already. When he finished, she let out a sigh and she finally spoke again: “You have a lot of honour for being a pirate…”

Killian’s lips twitched up in a small smile. Then he threw the thorny question right back at her: “What about you? When did you find out you were a Saviour?”

Emma fiddled with her hair, pushing a strand of it behind her ear. She tried to get the easy way out: “Well, technically I’ve always been one. Apparently, it comes from being the product of true love or something…”

Killian chuckled and, of course, he didn’t loosen his grip: “Aye, that you are. But I meant… how did you discover that you were part of a fairy tale, so to speak?”

His question brought her back to two years earlier, two years that felt like a lifetime. She sighed and she found herself smiling at the memory. “It was Henry…” she explained, fondness for her child in her soft voice “It was the night of my 28th birthday. I was at home and I had this little cake with a candle on it. I wished I didn’t have to spend the night of my birthday alone and a second later he showed up at my door with his story book in his hands, telling me I was his mother. An hour later I was driving him back to his town while he was talking nonsense about his adoptive mother being the Evil Queen and all the other citizens of Storybrooke being characters of fairy tales trapped there by I curse I was supposed to break…”

Killian whistled: “Bloody hell… it must have been a little overwhelming…”

Emma laughed: “You think?! I thought I was going mad. Or maybe that he was mad, I don’t know. But I stayed, I wanted to make sure he was happy with his adopted mother… he tried so hard to convince me that his stories were true and that I was the only person who could break the curse, the Saviour…"

"I don't find it hard to believe, Swan. You were bloody stubborn when I tried to bring back your memories!" he replied, remembering far too well the punch in the face he had received when he had tried to kiss her that morning in New York. He scratched his jaw unconsciously with the tip of his hook.

"That?! Pffft, that was easy!" she exclaimed "You only had to convince me to drink a memory potion! Henry didn't have anything like that to help him and he had about a lifetime of memories of a land without magic to erase... he finally got me to believe after he bit one of Regina's sleeping apples and fell on the floor before my eyes...” Killian’s eyes got as big as saucers with admiration and surprise. “It’s a long story…” she added, not wanting to go into details, for the same reason Killian didn’t want to talk about his brother’s death. It went really close for Henry that time and she didn’t like remembering how that felt like.

In the moment of silence that followed, she heard Killian chuckle under his breath. At her questioning look, he said: “Imagine if someone told you then that one day you would invite Captain Hook out for a date!” 

Emma laughed out loud: “I’d probably have arrested them for drug abuse or something… you should know, last time _you_ tried to convince me that there was something between us back in New York, I did get you arrested! And you didn't even mention the fairy tale thing! Remember?"

"Only too well, Swan..." he replied, looking away from her face. 

"Sorry..." she apologised, biting her lip. 

He remained silent for a few seconds, looking far away at the orange horizon, and then he whispered: “Is the idea of a date with me that crazy?” He sounded almost hurt. Emma felt the urge to be closer to him, to reassure him that there was nothing crazy about them dating, that it was actually pretty good. She let go of his hand and she crawled closer to him, resting her head against his chest, her arms locked around his hips. He hugged her back with one arm, his nose and lips on her wind-blown hair. “For the Emma of two years ago, it would have been insane…” she said “but for the present-day Emma… I think it’s quite a good idea. Actually, it could be the best idea I’ve had in a while…”

She felt his lips curve into a smile on her hair. “I agree with you on that…” he whispered back, barely audible over the sound of the waves “and remind me to thank the lad when we get back…”

She moved to look up at him, brow furrowed in a curious expression: “Henry? Why?”

Killian’s stare was so intense it burned her soul. His voice was low and passionate when he spoke again: “For making you believe… if it weren’t for him, I could have never found you…”

Emma shivered, feeling glad that she was steadily sitting on the wooden deck, safe in his arms. “You should thank him twice then…” she whispered, her voice trembling a little “He was the one who convinced me to ask you out in the first place, because he wanted me to be happy…”

Killian just stared at her, serious blue eyes fixed into hers. “And are you?” he asked.

Emma smiled and moved her arms around his neck. She pulled herself up, closer to him. She made a point of looking openly into his eyes, so he could see that she was completely sincere. “Yes. Yes, I am” she replied, her voice loud and clear. Killian leaned down just enough to place his lips on her. And for that night, no more stories were told, they just kissed and kissed and kissed again, while the drowning sun painted the most glorious sky Storybrooke had ever seen.

_The end_


End file.
